19. The Farewell Ball

Kara, despite what her sporadic bouts of ditziness might lead you to believe, was actually a very organised human being. She was the type of person to keep her clothes ordered when on holiday to make packing at the end a simple and straightforward process. Therefore, packing everything up in her small room in the Palace should have taken her only twenty minutes or so but she managed to drag the task out to last a completely unnecessary two hours.

The reason it took so long was because nearly every item she packed away to take home with her reminded her in some of way of what she was leaving behind.

The yellow dress she folded carefully and placed at the bottom of her suitcase would always be associated with Lena’s apology and her reconciling the Queen and the Chef into Lena.

The jeans she wore on the Sunday she spent with Lena still smelt like Loki and had minor mud stains from walking around the hidden lake.

The dark blue cardigan she wore when interviewing Lena had suffered some wear when her thumbs had fidgeted ceaselessly with the end of the sleeves to prevent giving into the desire to reach out and make contact.

The blue pyjamas that would be the last items to be packed away would forever remind Kara of evenings learning to cook, dancing around the kitchen and basking in the warmth of Lena’s green eyes.

Kara slammed the suitcase lid shut, decisively zipped it up and tucked it away in the corner of the room; out of sight, out of mind. The last full day at the Palace for the journalists was a rather relaxed affair, the only event organised for them all to attend was a formal ball in the evening which marked the end of their visit. The Queen and prime minister would undoubtedly take the opportunity presented to make speeches about Theonia’s growing enthusiasm to become part of the wider world and their hope for future interactions.

The morning, however, was theirs to do with as they please. Half of the journalists chose to venture out to revisit their favourite sights. The other half spent the morning finishing off any outstanding articles as much as possible, ensuring that they could have one or two days to recuperate after the trip, free from the shadow of work looming over them.

The CatCo team had fallen into the latter group.

Their visit to see the science minister yesterday had given them a wealth of information and stories to write up. Kara had also taken the opportunity to lay in and reflect on everything Lena had told her yesterday. She may have said no to being with her romantically, but she was still being intimate with Kara in every capacity she could. Telling Kara truths that she was convinced Lena had never told anyone else. And Kara responded in kind, whispering about her parents. Describing them both in detail and sharing how they would all have water fights on hot summer weekends and challenged themselves to build bigger and bigger snowmen each year.

It was probably the deepest and most meaningful relationship she had ever been in… and she couldn't even call it a relationship.

Kara shook her head, clearing her mind before reaching for the dress hanging up on a hook on the back of the room’s door. It was the nicest dress she owned and she had been so careful when packing it up because of how much she liked it. Now, though, in the early evening light peeking through the minor gaps of the closed curtains, she found self-doubt creeping in. It wasn’t eye catching or the latest season and she had managed to get it in a clearance sale a couple of years ago when money was tight.

It was a baby pink colour with a prom-style skirt that poofs out. The bodice had some ruffles to catch the eye, but the overall style was rather simple. It was also strapless, which Alex had declared was its best feature since it showed off Kara’s shoulders and arms.

Kara ran her hands over the soft material once more before turning away to finish putting her hair up. She had just finished fixing the last bobby pin in place and was in the process of deciding how she wanted to do her make-up when she head a rap on her door followed by a tentative, “Hey, Kara?”

Recognising Winn’s voice, she got to her feet and opened the door, “Yeah, Winn?” She said before taking in the young man in front of her and immediately bursting out into laughter. Winn promptly pouted and crossed his arms in response, causing Kara to simply laugh harder. Once Kara had her amusement under control, she asked, “What did you do ?”

Winn had somehow managed to use what appeared to be three different bow ties to create his own game of cat’s cradle around his neck. He ducked his head and mumbled, “I tried my best but knots are hard…”

Kara sighed in exasperation before tugging him inside her room, “Come here, let me do it.” Kara’s hands quickly got to work to untangle her friend from the mess he had made. Whilst she worked, she took the time to appreciate the well-pressed grey trousers and the crisp white shirt. “Looking smart.”, she complimented causing Winn to puff out his chest proudly.

“Thanks, not bad yourself.” He replied, his usual good humour and confidence reappearing in an instant.

“Thanks.” Kara rolled her eyes good naturedly; finally freeing Winn of his three bow tie extravaganza, she then held up the three options allowing Winn to pick his preferred choice. He unsurprisingly selected the grey tie embroidered with tiny white direwolves in homage to the Stark House from Game of Thrones.

“Can I ask you something?” Winn checked, and Kara instantly knew it wasn’t a joke or a trivial topic he wanted to ask about. He was watching her closely but trying not to appear too interested, which was always his tell.

“Sure.” Kara shrugged, settling the tie around Winn’s neck and getting the lengths right on either side.

“What comes next for you?”

Kara tilted her head to the side at the question in mild bewilderment, “Umm… I finish my make-up…”

“No… I mean career-wise.” Winn clarified, his eyes appearing genuinely curious intermingled with surprise at Kara’s still confused expression, “You must realise that you’re going to get your pick of assignments after this, right?”

“Yeah, right…”, Kara scoffed, shaking her head dismissively as she finished tying his bowtie and straightening it up.

“Really, Kara.” Winn settled his hands over Kara’s and encouraged her to give her full attention to what he was honestly saying, “I don’t think you realise how amazing you did.” Kara blushed, more pleased with her friend’s view of her work than the thousands upon thousands of readers on the internet. “Tell me you haven’t been receiving job offers already...”

“Maybe a few.” Kara conceded shyly after a moment’s hesitation. It was true that over the past two weeks at the Palace she had received at least five job offers from highly reputable news outlets (and plenty more from less reputable ones). None of them had captured her interest, however, CatCo had been the only news outlet to take the risk of hiring her straight out of University. CatCo had also stepped up to help her develop into the type of journalist she’d always dreamed of being and Cat had personally taken the time to become like a mentor to her.

Kara was happy were she was.

Yes, that could all change if she felt like she wasn’t doing what she loved anymore or felt undervalued, but that wasn’t the case so her loyalty stayed resolutely with CatCo.

“Cat will have to give you the choice of your next assignments,” Winn continued, releasing Kara’s hands so that he could gesture freely with his own as he spoke, “though she’ll probably be keen for you to stick to the international front…” Kara pursed her lips and scrunched her brows at that and Winn must have noticed her reaction if the question that followed was any indication, “Is that something you would want?”

“I don’t know.” Kara murmured, her mind starting to feel heavy and clouded with the fast approaching future that she had been determinedly ignoring to enjoy the bubble she and Lena had created for themselves during their time together.

“Well…”, Winn started, a teasing tone appearing in his voice, “I always thought you would be good for the science and technology section…”

“Oh yeah…”, Kara replied, raising an eyebrow, “Would that suggestion have anything to do with getting to spend time with one of my best friends?”

“Possibly.” Winn admitted, trying to look innocent, Kara immediately whacked his arm causing his mask to disintegrate as he winced. “Just…”, Winn sighed fondly, rubbing his bicep where Kara’s hand had made contact, “make sure you think about it… this is a chance for you to get what you always wanted. Whatever that is.”

Kara had to concentrate to keep her face from falling as an image of green eyes and dark hair filled her head. “Thanks, Winn.” Kara murmured appreciatively, moving forward to give her friend a tight hug.

“Anytime.” Winn promised easily.

“Hey, are you two ready?” James called out, knocking on the open door as he did so. “I think only the Queen can get away with being late.”

“Sugar!” Kara yelped, trying to calculate how quickly she could finish getting ready as she sprinted over to her dresser and whipped out her foundation to get started, “Nearly… just give me… like fifteen minutes!” Kara proclaimed, trying to hold steady as she applied her make-up.

“She’ll be another half-an-hour.” James muttered under his breath to Winn, shaking his head in amusement.

“Uh huh…”, Winn hummed agreement before leaving Kara to finish panic dressing.

Kara only took twenty-five minutes, a personal best that earned her a round of applause from her dorky friends followed by a wave of compliments about how good she looked. James sported the classic black tuxedo that never went out of style especially when it was worn so well, Winn looked just as impressive in his smart grey suit and personalised bowtie. The CatCo men would definitely steal the show that night in Kara’s humble opinion, a thought she shared with the men in question producing goofy grins and pleased blushes.

The three of them headed out together towards the ballroom in the East Wing that was already bustling with formally attired guests and servers dressed up in black penguin outfits complete with lilac waistcoats. Heavy purple drapes accentuated impressively tall windows and the high ceiling’s central feature was a dazzling chandelier from which white ribbons were pinned to and stretched across to the top of the walls. A small orchestra was playing enchanting song after enchanting song, a polished dancefloor sat in front of them and incredibly graceful couples were already gliding in perfect time across it.

“Wow.” All three reporters murmured in awe upon seeing the display before them.

Lena may not have seen any disney films but she sure as hell knew how to emulate one, Kara thought to herself as she slowly spun on the spot to take in the magic of everything. James and Winn instantly ran to grab glasses of champagne from a passing by server, Kara, however, wasn’t left on her own for too long. Three-quarters of the way through her rotation, Kara spotted Captain Dunn making his way easily through the crowd of people towards her. He was in a formal uniform: black jacket adorned with silver medals and a purple aiguillette, black trousers with a purple line running up either leg and spotless, shining black shoes.

“Miss Danvers, may I have a moment of your time?” Captain Dunn asked politely, greeting her with a nod of his head.

“Of course, Captain.” Kara assured, flashing him a large welcoming smile that Kara was convinced earned her a fleeting, almost impossible to notice or confirm, smile in return.

“I simply wanted to say it has been an honour accompanying you and the CatCo team for the past two weeks.” Captain Dunn relayed earnestly, his blue eyes glinting with hidden fondness. “Not only did you give me a chance to get out from behind my desk, you also made me excited to see what the rest of the world has to offer.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open slightly, touched unequivocally by the soldier’s sentiments, “Captain-”

The Captain didn’t pause though, obviously not finished with whatever he wanted to say, “I also wanted to say thank you for your…” The soldier cleared his throat and when he spoke again his voice was much quieter to ensure only Kara would hear, “other interactions. You brought joy to a dear friend who had been without it for a long time.” Kara’s breath stuttered at the remark whilst Dunn drew himself up to his full height and declared, “My only wish is that you could stay longer.”

“I… I…”, Kara stammered, totally unsure how to respond.

“Thank you, Miss Danvers, sincerely.” The Captain bowed his head respectfully before holding his hand out towards her. “And I truly hope we meet again someday.”

Kara exhaled deeply, straightening up to try and emulate the Captain’s posture and then reached out to shake his hand for what she assumed would be the final time, “And I you, Captain. I couldn't have asked for a better guard. You're a credit to your uniform.”

The almost, but not quite there, smile flashed again and blue eyes glittered with pride at the compliment. With a final, firm handshake the Captain about-turned and disappeared in the throng of people, leaving Kara with an greater sense of loss with regards to her rapidly approaching departure.

James, was the first to reappear, and he had been kind enough to pick up a glass of champagne for Kara, Winn was across the hall having his own goodbye with their protector. Winn appeared to get rather emotional during the exchange, going so far as to dive forward for a hug which resulted in the soldier stiffening and awkwardly patting the shorter man on the back (James and Kara tried their best to stifle their giggles).

“Wait… are those… potstickers?” James remarked incredulously.

“Huh… what?” Kara exclaimed, her head swiveling from left to right to catch sight of her favourite food.

“They're serving potstickers!” James yelled, grabbing Kara’s shoulders and positioning her so that she had an unimpeded view of a server carrying a silver platter overloaded with potstickers.

“Kara…” Winn, having appeared at their sides, gasped out in childlike amazement, “did you wish really hard on a shooting star?”

“Err…” Kara drooled, shrugging off James’ hands as her feet moved inextricably towards her stomach’s greatest desire, “I'm going to steal an entire tray for myself. I'll see you both later.” She called out the last part over her shoulder, her potsticker-seeking tendencies resulting in her speeding halfway across the room in pursuit of the delicacy screaming out her name.

Two entire trays of potstickers and one totally horrified Palace servant later, Kara finally felt satisfied enough to begin interacting with the fellow guests. She ran into the science minister and spent a lengthy conversation with him talking about where future technology would go next (he was eventually dragged away by his husband who epitomised tall, dark and handsome).

Kara was then approached by Grace Mayweather and Ray Larkin (who she found out were exes but still got along rather well). She immensely enjoyed speaking with both of them and wished she had her notebook with her to carefully write down all the wisdom they had to share with her. The highlight, however, came at the end of the conversation when they both gave her their phone-numbers and offered her mentoring and help if she ever needed it. The two legendary journalists left her for a particularly fast-paced music number that they said reminded them of their wedding.

Kara enjoyed the momentary solitude, sipping her drink whilst she scoped out the rest of the guests. She would claim she was looking for another newly made journalist friend to speak to but she was secretly searching for green eyes. Lena had arrived an hour so earlier (halfway through the first platter of potstickers) accompanied by the prime minister, both of whom had been kind enough to keep their speeches short and sweet, ending with sincere thank yous and farewells.

Kara had caught glimpses of the Queen in passing throughout the night. She was easily the most eye-catching woman there (at least in Kara’s opinion) in a stunning purple gown with glittering diamond-esque sequins cascading down the bodice, her dark hair gathered up and pinned underneath a purple and white flower.

“May I have this dance?” A disgustingly smarmy voice requested at the same time as a clammy hand gripped her shoulder.

Kara groaned in frustration as she turned around, violently shrugging off Mike’s touch. “No. Not in a million years.”

“So vicious, Kar.” Mike whistled, easily hiding the fact Kara had flinched away from his touch by turning the movement into the act of straightening the bow tie of his inevitably designer tuxedo. “You'll never get a man if you talk like that and turn down every offer that comes along.” Mike advised, lifting his chin in an attempt to emulate an expert talking about his area of expertise.

“Mike, it's the last night,” Kara muttered, sick and tired of this uncomfortable game she had to play with a man who simply refused to acknowledge her disinterest and dislike, “can't you just leave me alone?”

“Now, Kar,” Mike tsked, reaching out to run his fingertips over Kara’s forearm as he leaned into her space with his signature charming leer, “where would be the fun in that?”

Kara’s jaw tightened and the grip on her champagne glass turned into a vise threatening to shatter the stem as she struggled to control her fury. A spew of expletives hung on the tip of her tongue and as Mike swayed just that little bit closer, she was ready to unleash them when-

“Miss Danvers, Mr Matthews, I hope you are both having a good time.” Lena’s curt, queenly tone had Mike springing back a foot in shock, as Kara breathed out a deep sigh of relief.

“Your majesty.” Kara said gratefully, giving a quick curtesy as she shot Lena her most thankful smile only to find Lena wasn’t paying her any attention.

The Queen’s gaze was fixed solely on Mike, her polite, professional smile that would never reveal her one-cheeked dimple, was firmly in place, her green eyes were cold and she was as still as a predator lying in wait. Kara felt truly scared for Mike for a fraction of second, until he opened his mouth and any bit of sympathy was immediately eradicated.

“Yes, your majesty.” Mike replied to the Queen’s question, recovering gracefully from his surprise by swooping into a magnificent bow that would make less-informed women weak in the knees. As Mike rose from his bow, there was a slyness to his expression that merely highlighted how greatly he underestimated the dark-haired woman stood in front of him. “In fact, Kar here had just agreed to dance with me.” He smirked, rounding on Kara with positive glee.

Sympathy fully evaporated, Kara couldn’t stop the squawk from escaping, “What?!”

‘“Is that so?” Lena remarked thoughtfully, ignoring Kara’s desperate attempts to convey how untrue this was, “That's such a shame.” Lena said with a sad shake of her head, “See…”, Lena smiled forlornly at Mike (Kara wanted to give her an Oscar on the spot), “I’d heard you were something of a wine connoisseur?” Her voice trilled higher, encouraging Mike to press a hand to his chest and nod like the title was a heavy burden that he had sacrificed greatly to earn. “I saw your delightful blindfolded wine tasting game…”

“Oh that…”, Mike winced sharply at that revelation. One of his and LYNX’s most popular segments involved Mike giving celebs and members of the public an array of drinks, half of which were cheap wine and the other half vinegar, the goal was to guess which was which.

“And upon hearing this,” Lena continued to explain, her polite smile taking on a shark-like quality as she turned a purposeful blind-eye to Mike’s growing discomfort, “my dear friend Franklin was beyond eager to give you a personal tour of the Palace, specifically the wine cellars. Well,” Lena paused to give out (what Kara knew to be a completely fake, breathy) laugh which momentarily lulled Mike into a false sense of security, “that's what those rooms are being converted into…” She leaned into Mike’s personal space, her hand wrapping tightly around Mike’s bicep as she whispered covertly, “we try not to call them dungeons since its a much more intimidating moniker, wouldn't you agree?”

Lena fluttered her eyelashes at the LYNX reporter who, for once, failed to come up with any response, “Uhh…”

“Eloquently put, Mr Matthews,” Lena let go of Mike suddenly, causing him to stumble unsteadily as Lena clapped her hands together excitedly, “this is definitely an opportunity you can't afford to miss out on. Lieutenant Franklin?” Lena called out, summoning a hulking figure, two feet taller than Kara who dropped a hand the size of a dinner plate on MIke’s shoulder to keep him from falling over, though the heavy weight had the side-effect of winding Mike considerably.

“Yes, your majesty.” The walking, talking hulk muttered out of the corner of his mouth as he bowed his head.

“This is Mr Matthews,” Lena introduced gleefully, pointing to Mike who was already cowering beneath the soldier’s dead-eyed stare, “he is beyond excited for your tour. Mr Matthews this is Lieutenant Franklin, though he has assured me that you can call him Frank.”

“Hi… Frank.” Mike managed to weakly muster out, gulping noticeably between the two words.

The soldier, now to be referred to as Frank, merely grunted in reply.

“Off you go then.” Lena waved her hand in farewell as Frank with a light shove directed Mike out of the ballroom. “Goodbye, Mr Matthews.”

Kara had watched the entire scene play out in utter awe, her smirk slowly growing to the largest grin possible.

WIth Mike now no longer in sight, Lena finally turned to give Kara her full attention, her Queenly mask vanishing in an instant to be replaced with the soft, yet self-satisfied smile that was innately Lena after she had accomplished something she was rather proud of.

“Is his name really Franklin?” Kara couldn’t help but ask.

Lena pursed her lips to keep a genuine chuckle from escaping, “No, it's Thomson, but I don't like to do things halfway.”

Kara shook her head in amusement, enjoying being close to Lena for a couple of heartbeats, “You didn't have to do that.”

“Do what?” Lena inquired, playing innocent, “Facilitate a learning experience for one of my guests?”

“That's what we're calling it, huh?”

“Mmhmm…” Lena hummed, her eyes twinkling with a mischievousness that had goosebumps erupting down Kara’s arms as she imagined that look being sent her way in a completely different scenario. “Are you having a good night so far, requests to dance notwithstanding?”

“I am, actually.” Kara confirmed, reflecting on how everything had been like a fairytale so far. “The cuisine is top notch”, Kara flashed Lena a knowing glance that had the Queen ducking her head to hide an embarrassed blush, “and I have made friends with quite a few journalists… even a couple of whom are my personal heroes. But I must say,” she began ponderously, “my evening vastly improved a few minutes ago.”

“With Mr Matthews departure?” Lena guessed smugly.

Kara tilted her head to the side and murmured seriously, “With your arrival.”

Lena’s confidence vanished instantly (an effect Kara was rather proud to have caused) and her eyes widened with emotion, “Kara, I…”

“Yes?”

Lena swallowed thickly, shuffling slowly closer to Kara who accepted the closeness willingly as Lena whispered so only the two of them could hear, “I really, really want to ask you to dance.” Lena took a second to glance around, making sure no one was watching when she let her hand swing by her side to brush against Kara’s fingers as she muttered reverently, “You look absolutely radiant tonight.”

“I don't…” Kara denied, her face beginning to burn hotly, unable to cope with Lena’s direct compliment and closeness in public, “I don't really compare to the other women here…”

“No, you don't, you're right.” Lena agreed readily, and Kara felt disappointment mixed with acceptance swirling inside of her… Then Lena added in a declarative tone which brooked no argument, “You surpass them in every way imaginable.”

Kara’s heart raced exponentially, and tears gathered in her eyes as she was overwhelmed by everything she wanted and everything she couldn’t have. “You can't keep saying things like that to me.” Kara pleaded, “Not on the last night.”

Lena flinched backwards upon hearing the pain in Kara’s voice that she had put there, “Kara-”

Kara, though didn’t want to hear any more sweet whispered words that she knew no one else would ever say to her in such a loving manner. Her heart couldn’t stand it, so instead she demanded desperately, biting back the flood of tears, “Aren't you tired of always having to put your own happiness on pause? Are you really so afraid of the end and the sadness which comes with it, that you refuse to simply be happy now?”

Lena’s mouth opened and closed listlessly, “I… I…”

Kara hung her head in disappointment upon realising Lena lacked the answers just as much as her.

“Your majesty.” Sam interrupted with a respectful bow, stepping between the two of them tactfully, “I think it would be prudent to interact with your other guests.” Sam revealed; Kara promptly glanced around to see a few people trying to watch them discreetly out of the corner of their eye. Lena, however, didn’t take her eyes off Kara for even a second despite Sam’s subtle warning. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Sam shifted slightly to intercept Lena’s eyeline, “People are starting to notice that your attention is very focused.”

Lena jolted at that and Sam’s pointed glare, rushing out a quick, “Of course, thank you, Sam.”

Accepting that her time with Lena at the ball was now over for the rest of the night, Kara dropped into an unsteady curtesy, “Goodbye, your majesty.”

“I…”, Even with the awareness that any more attention would be detrimental, Lena still looked on the edge of trying to say more. Her green eyes were bursting with barely held back affection. To help her along, Kara gave her an encouraging nod which said ‘I understand’ without actually having to say it. “Goodbye, Miss Danvers.”

“I'll see you later.” Kara whispered out of the corner of her mouth as she passed Lena by with the intent of seeking out her friends for the rest of the night. She didn’t look back to see Lena’s reaction but she heard a sigh of relief which told her that her reassurance went a long way.

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Kara had the pleasure of speaking to M’gann M’orzz again, who complimented the article she produced out of their interview. Kara consumed another two trays of potstickers, making a Palace servant turn light green with visible nausea. She also got to dance with her two favourite men, though she had to admit her waltzing left a lot to be desired (Winn left the floor limping and James let out more than one wince of pain).

It all started to die down around eleven; the journalists were acutely aware that they would be leaving the Palace at seven tomorrow morning to get their flight back. The CatCo team were one of the earliest groups to depart, mostly because Kara and James were forced to support a rather inebriated Winn who couldn’t put any weight on his left foot after his dance with Kara, back to their rooms.

Kara swiftly got changed into her blue pyjamas and waited on the edge of her bed until she was sure her best friends were definitely settled in for the night before sneaking out for her last rendez-vous with the Queen. The ball was still winding down and she could still her a musical note from the orchestra every now and again as she made her way confidently through the twisting corridors.

Kara figured there was a good chance Lena was still at the ball, unsure how long the Queen would be expected to attend an event in her own home. Therefore, she was surprised upon opening the door to their kitchen to discover Lena already there, still in her glorious ballgown pacing nervously back and forth, her hands wringing frantically in front of her.

“Lena…”, Kara whispered softly not wanting to startle Lena when she was obviously on edge about something. Lena’s head snapped round to see Kara, her green eyes bright and shining as she absorbed the sight of Kara in her long blue pyjamas for what was to be the last time. Her hectic movements and pacing ceased at once, and Lena appeared to go rigid on the spot, her muscles taut and tight with restrained energy for a long second before she strode towards Kara with measured, decisive steps.

Kara’s heart skipped a beat, reacting immediately to the fixated gaze Lena had upon her.

Lena halted when she was a foot away, her hands lifting up gradually, so that Kara had all the time in the world to react, and cupped oh-so-delicately Kara’s face. Kara’s breath began to quicken, her hands reacting of their own accord and moving to grip Lena’s hips, the silk of her purple gown the softest fabric her hands had ever touched.  

Lena leaned forward incrementally, Kara’s eyes instantly slipping closed in anticipation.

In the darkness, her nerve ends electrified and charged to full capacity, Kara felt the barely-there kiss placed on her lips. A wave of pure bliss ran down Kara’s body at the slight contact, absolutely craving more. Her wish was granted after a second’s pause, Kara presumed Lena needed that time to fully comprehend what she’d done, and Lena’s lips were back on Kara’s, soft and exploratory.

Kara experienced that soaring feeling she had felt when she had kissed Lena in the stables, this time though the kiss went on longer, switching between deep and desperate, and soft and tender. This time Kara reached the stratosphere, the whole world fell magically away, leaving Kara and Lena alone in their own bubble above the Earth.

With a light suck on Kara’s lip, Lena pulled away to take in a shuddering breath, keeping their foreheads resting against each other.

“What- what was that?” Kara eventually managed to murmur when she felt like her feet had returned to the ground. Kara cracked open her eyes to see a quirked smile dancing across Lena’s face that the blonde was desperate to trace with her lips.

“Me... choosing to be happy now.” Lena breathed out, her thumbs rubbing gently along Kara’s cheekbones, “Stay with me tonight…”

Kara swallowed thickly, lightly nodding her head up and down because, in all honesty, how could she say anything but yes to that request...